


a piece of lilly.

by kurinhyi



Category: Lego Ninjago
Genre: ;_;, Season 13 spoilers, and this was also my entry of the ninja never quit zine and i, bruiseshipping and lavashipping if you squint tbh, but all in all this is just a friendship fic, mostly bruiseshipping if you squint, wahh
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-15
Updated: 2021-01-15
Packaged: 2021-03-12 13:48:03
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,514
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28761300
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kurinhyi/pseuds/kurinhyi
Summary: “My mother’s blades…”Cole didn’t have much to remember of his mother. Just her kind words that she would give to him, the day she passed away - just the memories of climbing mountains with her. Her memories, but very little physical objects. The blades, although he had it for a short time…Those were all he had left of her.
Comments: 3
Kudos: 25





	a piece of lilly.

The death of his mother has always been a hard one for Cole to properly process. Him and his mother were closer than anything - he trusted her, confided in her when his young mind was processing the new emotions that were beginning to pour in when she was diagnosed with an illness that he, and by extension, his father, didn’t fully understand. The only thing Cole knew was that his mother was a fighter - and that she wasn’t going to go down not fighting. 

And by God--she did. 

There was a lot that Cole remembered about his mother. How she and his father would dance together during a full moon, or how she would constantly check on him to make sure he’s okay. To the way she smiled at him during her bed rest and assured him that she would be okay, to her slowly loosening grip when her illness got the better of her… But he doesn’t like to think too much about her passing. He doesn’t like to think about how he and his father had different ways of coping with her loss. In fact - it felt as though Lou had managed to move on faster than he could. 

Climbing mountains was all Cole had after his mother--Lilly, passed away. It’s what they did all the time when she was healthy - that was their thing. Lou wasn’t a big fan of it, but he saw how happy it made Cole - and how happy it made his wife, so just as long as they were safe… that’s all that mattered to him, in the end. Just as long as they came home safe, happy, and sound, Lou would deal with it. 

But the first day Cole came home from rock climbing by himself, sweat beading down his face and a sombre expression on his face, is a day that Lou could admittedly never forget. 

It’s one that Cole can’t forget, either. 

He held onto the memories of his mother tightly and dearly. They were memories he never wanted to forget, memories that would shape him into the ninja he became today. 

When the ninja received an invitation to the island of Shintaro, Cole didn’t really have an opinion on it - not at first, anyways. Sure, he thought that Princess Vania was cute and all, but he wasn’t entirely interested in her the way that Lloyd seemed to think he was. He found it charming that she was such a big fan of the ninja-and by extension, him, but other than that… Shintaro was supposed to be a form of getaway. Something to bring Wu’s spirits up again, maybe a place for him to relax. Just for a week or so, before they had to go back home and be greeted to the hell that would inevitably be unleashed, just as it always was. 

Cole would never forget the first night they arrived on Shintaro, when--at the time, a stranger would break into the room he stayed in the night, and he noticed that the stranger had a locket containing the images of both his mother and father. 

The secrets of Shintaro would soon come to unravel itself, and Cole’s connection with his mother was… well, it was stronger than ever. He had finally understood what she had done in the years before she had him, and how much of a hero she was. He had only heard of tales, but he had never gotten the chance to fully experience it. She would tell him stories of her adventures, and always end it saying the same thing. 

_ Promise me that you will always stand up to those who are cruel and unjust. Always _ . 

… 

So, he did. 

After the defeat of the Skull Sorcerer--Vania’s father, the island of Shintaro could finally find peace. It was a rather peaceful island in the first place, despite some grievances. But there was a lot that not even it’s own  _ people _ knew, that Cole and the rest of the ninja would soon come to discover. As usual, they worked together when they could get the chance to be reunited, and the Skull Sorcerer was brought to an end. Things should be fine, right…?

… 

… …

… … … 

_ “Cole?” _ A familiar voice calls out to the elemental of earth - the voice of Jay, the man Cole considered his best friend. He noticed that Cole didn’t come down to join everyone as everything was over--instead, he stood at the cliff, where he and Vania’s father fought, staring down at the ground.

The sound of Jay’s voice causes Cole to startle. He looks over his shoulder, only acknowledging his friend. 

But he doesn’t say anything. 

_ “Are you alright?”  _ Jay’s voice is soft. He approaches Cole, putting a hand on his shoulder. With a concerned look on his face, his eyes meet with Cole’s - and Cole only gives a small smile. Although small, it’s clear that it’s a genuine smile - something that brought some comfort to Jay. 

_ “Yeah.”  _ Cole finally replies.

He places a hand over Jay’s, as he turns his attention to what he was staring at. Jay’s eyes follow Cole’s gaze, and he spots it. The blades that Cole used in battle - the dual blades who previously belonged to his mother, rest in front of them. Scattered into what looks like a million pieces, the blades lay there, clearly broken - and Cole’s smile disappears. 

_ “It’s just…”  _ He starts to say. His voice is still quiet. 

_ “My mother’s blades…”  _

Jay loses his smile, too. 

Cole didn’t have much to remember of his mother. Just her kind words that she would give to him, the day she passed away - just the memories of climbing mountains with her. Her memories, but very little physical objects. The blades, although he had it for a short time… 

_ Those were all he had left of her.  _

The ninja never really had much time to themselves when they returned home from a mission, or a getaway. They would typically only get a week of freetime, and most of the time - they would choose to just hang out with one another, playing video games and going out for food when given the chance. 

Things were a little bit different this time around, however - as Kai approaches his parents blacksmith shop. A small bag rests against his hip, containing one of the pieces of the blade that Jay managed to grab when Cole wasn’t looking. Jay had approached Kai, away from everyone else holding the shard in his hands, asking if there’s something that Kai could do with it, to later give to Cole so that he could have a small piece of his mother’s blade with him forever. Kai agreed, of course - as he noticed that ever since they’ve been back, Cole has been spending more time to himself. 

He seemed happier, more content with himself - that’s for sure. But he could tell that something was weighing heavily on his mind. Cole discovered all the secrets of his mother within the time frame of just a few days, it must’ve been a lot for him to comprehend at once. 

So, Kai agreed to at least help Jay out with getting a piece of the blade back to Cole - as a keepsake, something for him to hold onto when he needs it. But the problem was, he didn’t know  _ how _ . He wasn’t entirely the best when it came to making handmade things (except, of course, when it came to weapons. That’s probably why Jay approached him, but truthfully...there was only so much you could do with just a portion of a previous weapon.) - but he would try, if it meant that it could bring Cole some peace. 

_ “Kai!” _ He hears his name called out to him, and a smile forms on his face. Ever since he had discovered his parents and saved them, they had comfortably made their way back home to the blacksmith shop and could live a life in peace knowing that they didn’t need to be conforming to the expectations of a side that they didn’t want to be on. He and Nya had gone out of their way to visit them at least once every other day, just to check up on them to see how they were doing and if they needed anything - as well as to just spend some time with them. 

It doesn’t take much time for Ray to quickly approach Kai, pulling him into a hug that lasts for just a few moments. Kai returns the hug, looking up towards Ray as he steps away, the smile on his face not faltering even once. 

_ “Hey, dad.”  _ Kai greets him, before standing on the tips of his toes to glance over Ray’s shoulder. 

_ “Where’s mom? There’s something I wanna ask her...” _ Kai is quick to get to the point - not that it surprised Ray, really. He was the type to jump straight to points, too - he had to get it from  _ somewhere _ . 

_ “She’s inside,”  _ Ray responds, glancing over his shoulder to gesture at the home that stood directly next to the blacksmith shop. _ “What do you need?”  _

Kai puts his hand over the pouch that rests against his hip - causing Ray to glance down towards the pouch, too. He’s curious, wanting to know what’s inside of it - but he doesn’t have to wait too long for an answer. Kai slips his hand into the pouch, pulling out a medium sized piece of one of the broken blades of the weapons who previously belonged to Lilly. Upon first sight of it, Ray’s expression softens, and the smile previously on his face softens. 

_ “We went to the island of Shintaro a couple days ago,”  _ Kai starts to explain, as his eyes lock onto the piece of the blade that rests in his hands. “ _ I wasn’t with him the entire time, but I know there was a lot about his mom that Cole discovered. He even got a hold of her weapon… but it broke on him at the very end. He seems torn up about it, Jay told me that he said he didn’t have anything else to remember his mother by.” _ He pauses. 

_ “Jay asked me if I could go and do something with this piece that he salvaged when Cole wasn’t looking. But I’m not good at coming up with things on the spot, and it’s not like I can take this small piece and make it into another weapon. I don’t think Cole would want that...so I wanted to ask mom for help, or if she had any other ideas.” _ Kai notices Ray extending his hand out towards the remnant of the blade resting in his hands, and curiously - Kai holds it out for his father to grab. 

So he does - plucking it from Kai’s hand, Ray looks over the shard. The first thing he notices is an engraving on the other side of it - Lilly’s first name. If there was a second piece that had her last name carved into it-- it wasn’t there. Ray’s expression is soft, as he looks over the blade. 

_ “I haven’t seen Lilly in so long.” _ He mumbles under his breath, before he returns the blade to Kai’s hand.  _ “Her and Maya… they were close. I’m sure she’d be able to figure something out.”  _

Kai looks down towards the blade. He had a bit of a suspicion that his mother could’ve been close to Lilly - but hearing it confirmed hit him a bit harder than he thought it would. He nods, after taking a moment to process the words Ray throws at him, as he looks towards the house that he and Nya used to live in. The house where he practically raised Nya-- all by himself, after their parents disappeared on them for reasons unknown to him at the time. It felt bittersweet coming back every time he did - but he would choose to push those feelings to the side, as he takes a step towards his childhood home. 

He’s about to knock on the door - but is greeted by the door opening, and the face of his smiling mother - who’s more than happy to see her son again.  _ “Kai!” _ She greets him, happily - as she pulls him into her arms and hugs him tight. 

Kai finds himself laughing. Being pulled into his mother’s arms was always something that was seen as embarrassing. But for Kai, it was more than welcomed - he didn’t get to experience it too much growing up. But she pulls away, looking down at him. The smile on her face stays, but her expression softens. She sees the remnants of Lilly’s blade, and she holds out her hand to get a closer look at it. 

Kai nods, bringing the blade into her hands. He watches, as she looks the piece over and over, taking a step back inside before she leans herself back against the wall. She lets out a little sigh, as she holds up the blade to the light. 

_ “Lilly’s weapon was beautiful. Don’t you think so?” _ Maya asks, looking towards Kai through her peripheral vision. 

_ “I didn’t get to see it up close, but from what I saw...yeah. It was.” _ Kai drags his feet towards the nearby couch, plopping himself down on it. He rests his elbows on his legs, as he glances up towards Maya and watches her stare at the blade for a few seconds longer. _ “Jay brought that to me. He asked if I could maybe go and make something for Cole, her blades were the only things he had of her, but they ended up breaking in combat. He’s fine, but… he’s clearly torn up about it. We want to give him something to remember his mom by. But I only know how to make weapons, and nothing creative like that...so, I was wondering if you had any ideas.”  _

_ “So I’ve heard. Your dad’s got a loud voice. Plus, the windows open.” _ Maya smiles down at Kai, giggling, as she pushes herself off the wall and hands the blade back to him. She makes her way over to the table in the living room, grabbing a hair-tie from it that she uses to quickly tie her hair up into a ponytail. 

_ “We could smooth out the edges and make it a pendant. There’s a part of the blade that says Lilly’s name, it would be best to make sure we can see that...why don’t we make a necklace? That way, Cole can choose to wear it, hang it up somewhere for display...do whatever he wants with it.”  _ She walks up to Kai, taking a seat next to him. She takes the blade from his hand again - this time, taking a moment to look at it. 

The smile on her face turns to a more sombre one.  _ “Lilly was an amazing woman. She was so brave, everything she did was for the sake of others. From what I’ve seen of him, Cole takes after her greatly. He lost her at such a young age, I’m sure this will mean a lot to him…”  _ Maya turns her head to look at her son, as she wraps an arm around his shoulders and pulls him in towards her, just to give him a hug and rest her cheek against the top of his head. 

_ “What you and Jay are doing for him… it’s nice. I’m sure he’ll appreciate it.” _ She tells him, holding him against her side for a few seconds longer. She eventually gets herself up, however, and stands up, turning herself around to look at Kai. 

_ “Well, let’s get started on it, then!”  _

The finished necklace is nothing short of stunning. It’s rather simple, but the main pendant is surrounded in a form of clear coating, with a cast of iron encasing it in place. The side that says Lilly’s name lays out front, clear for everyone to see. When Kai and Maya finished it together, Kai made sure to hold the necklace close to him, not wanting anything to happen to it. It doesn’t take him long to make his way back to the dojo, and almost immediately, Jay approaches him. 

_ “Did you get something?” _ He asks, and Kai nods. 

He opens up his hands for Jay to take a look at the necklace, and Kai can swear... he can see Jay’s eyes sparkling in astonishment. 

_ “Dude!”  _ Jay shouts, clear excitement in his voice. He quickly hushes his voice - glancing over his shoulder to make sure nobody heard him  _ (Nobody being Cole, of course.) _ \- before he looks at the necklace again and smiles. _ “It’s beautiful, you made this?”  _

_ “Of course I did!”  _ Kai waves a hand as he speaks - before he, too, lowers the tone of his voice and whispers:  _ “I mean, I had to ask my mom for help, but yeah. I did.”  _

Before Jay gets the chance to potentially laugh at Kai for needing to ask his mom for help, Kai grabs a hold of Jay’s hand, shoving the necklace into his hands. The action catches him off guard, but he finds himself gripping onto the necklace firmly. 

_ “You should be the one to give it to him.”  _ Kai says, looking down at Jay’s hand for a moment.  _ “You had the idea in the first place. Plus, you’re his best friend. It’d be better if he was receiving it from you.” _

Jay doesn’t say anything for a moment. His lips remain parted, as if trying to find the right words to say. But he eventually nods, his lips curving into a smile. 

_ “Okay.” _ He looks down to his hand, firmly gripping the necklace. 

_ “I will.” _

_ “Cole, can you do me a favor?”  _

It’s been a few days since Kai had given Jay the necklace to give to Cole. Jay had contemplated on if he should give the necklace to him in private - or if he should wait for all the ninja to be gathered together somewhere before doing it. Due to the fact he had waited a couple of days before giving him the necklace, he had the chance to tell everyone else of his and Kai’s plans. From when he stayed behind after checking on Cole after the defeat of the Skull Sorcerer and grabbing the first piece he saw, to Kai going back home to make something to give to Cole so that he can have something to remember his mother by. 

Everyone was understanding of it - promising to not speak of it to Cole. 

Jay had decided to just wait for a day when all of the ninja could be gathered together. They would always have dinner together, before they all went on their own ways to do whatever else they wanted. 

Jay had been holding onto the necklace for so long now. When he felt everyone’s eyes staring at him on this certain night, wondering if he was going to present it to him now, he decided it was about time to get it over with. 

_ “Yeah,”  _ Cole responds to Jay, looking at him with a raised brow.  _ “What do you need?”  _

Kai specifically watches Jay, resting his hand against his cheek - his fingers just lightly covering his lips so he doesn’t accidentally spill anything. 

_ “Can you close your eyes and hold out your hand?”  _

The two ninja lock eyes with one another, Cole noticing that Jay’s hands are balled tight against his lap. Their eye contact with one another felt just a tad awkward, and the request to close his eyes and hold out his hand was just a bit more awkward, but the earth elemental laughs beneath his breath. 

_ “Alright.”  _ Without another thought, Cole holds out his hand palm side up, already expecting that Jay will be putting something in his hand from the looks of Jay’s tightly balled fists against his lap. He closes his eyes, and he can hear Jay take in a deep breath, before -- 

He feels something warm in his hand. Jay’s hand? It lingers there for a moment, and Cole can’t help but to laugh to himself, as he opens his eyes and looks down to his hand. 

_ “Jay, what are you--”  _

Jay removes his hand from Cole’s, and Cole’s eyes widen as Jay’s hand removes itself from Cole’s, and he finds himself staring at a necklace resting in the palm of his hands. The pendant, however, catches his attention. 

_ “...Jay…”  _ Cole’s voice comes out in a whisper, his voice cracking with clear emotion taking over it. He picks up one side of the necklace with one hand and adjusts it so he can hold the other side with both of his hands, and he stares at the pendant, long and hard. 

_ “When did you…” _ Cole starts to question. 

_ “How did you…?”  _

He looks up from the necklace to look at Jay, then to Kai - and then, to everyone else at the table, who watches him. 

_ “...When I came up to check on you…”  _ Jay starts to explain himself. He glances at Kai, as if asking him to back him up. _ “And I saw you were staring at...the blades. You went back down first, but I grabbed the first piece I saw and asked Kai if he could help with getting something for you.”  _

Kai quickly butts in, cutting Jay off before he can say anything else. “Jay brought back the piece to me, and I brought it back home...my mom suggested that we make it into a necklace, or something. So that you can have a piece of her with you.” 

Cole turns his attention back to the necklace again, his lips parted and throat tight. He takes in a deep breath, trying to find the right words to say something. 

But nothing comes. 

It’s silent for a few moments, as Cole stares at the necklace to himself. However, he breaks the silence, not wanting them to think that he doesn’t like it, or anything. 

_ “You...you didn’t need to,” _ Cole starts to say, unable to tear his gaze away from the pendant. He finds himself staring at his mother’s name, staring him in the face, and he closes his mouth quickly. He returns the necklace to one hand, closing his hand around the pendant as he looks towards Jay. 

Then to Kai. 

Then to everyone else at the table, at almost a complete loss of words. 

_ “I didn’t…”  _ Jay nods, responding to Cole’s statement. 

_ “But I wanted to. I’m not sure if you have anything to remember her by, but you looked so…”  _ He pauses, his eyes locking with Cole’s again. _ “...I don’t know, sad? That her blades were broken. So… I thought it’d be nice if you could take some small piece of it home.”  _

Cole doesn’t say anything else. He looks down to his hand, clenching the pendant tightly, before he very carefully pushes himself up from the table. 

It’s quiet, with nobody saying a word. Cole can feel everyone’s eyes on him, and it makes it hard for them to know if he even likes it. 

Jay and Kai hold their breath - this was their idea. They just wanted to give something to Cole, but had they messed up…? 

Before either of them get the chance to think further on it, Jay feels Cole’s arms wrap tightly around his waist - and the taller man immediately buries his face into his neck. He can feel him trembling, and the tears that he’s been clearly trying to hold back become too overbearing for him to try and hold back anymore. Almost immediately, Jay wraps his arms around Cole tightly, and Kai gets up from his seat to rush over towards the two of them. He places his hand against Cole’s shoulder, a small smile forming on his lips. 

_ “Hey, it’s okay…”  _ Jay’s voice is soft, but his attempt at comfort only causes Cole to cry harder. 

Cole once again doesn’t respond to Jay’s words of comfort - but his grip on him only grows tighter. It doesn’t take a whole lot for Jay to guide Cole down, sitting him down carefully - and Kai follows suit, sitting near them and watching over the two of them quietly. It doesn’t take much longer for everyone to get up from where they are, surrounding Cole as he allows himself to cry  _ everything  _ out against Jay. They wait, not wanting to force him to speak if he wasn’t ready for it. They wanted him to speak when he wanted to, and take all the time he needed to process everything. 

When he does pull away, however, he sniffles. He looks up at Jay, his eyes filled with tears, but he smiles. 

He pulls away, looking towards everyone else - but locks eyes with Kai for a few seconds longer than everyone else. 

_ “Thank you…” _ He mumbles, his voice cracking after speaking for the first time after crying for… who knows  _ how _ long. He isn’t even sure.

Pulling his arms away from Jay, he looks down to the pendant of the necklace in his hand. His other hand lifts, if only to brush his fingers against the pendant lightly. He picks the necklace up with his other hand and holds it up for a second, making sure that Lilly’s name is visible, as he brings it up to his neck and reaches behind him, attempting to clasp the necklace together. 

But there’s only so much he can do when his hands are shaky, and he keeps missing the clasp. 

_ “Lemme help.”  _ Kai says, laughing under his breath as he gets up from where he sits. He moves behind Cole, his warm hands taking the clasps of the necklace as he connects the two together and moves to sit in front of Cole, looking at the work that both he and his mother made for  _ him _ . 

_ “It looks great on you, Cole.”  _ Nya speaks up, as she sits up from where she sits. She leans lightly against Lloyd’s back, a wide grin on her face - all while Lloyd flails just a bit and protests at her suddenly leaning all of her weight against him. 

_ “Nya-!” _ Lloyd protests, but she quickly reaches down and puts her hand over his mouth. 

Cole watches the two, and he can’t help but to snicker under his breath. He feels a hand against his shoulder, and he looks over to see who came to grab his attention. 

_ “Are you going to be okay, Cole?” _ The sound of Zane’s voice rings through Cole’s ears, as his eyes meet the nindroid’s. 

He parts his lips, taking a moment to himself to think on what he wants to say. A hand reaches up, if only to brush his fingers against the pendant again, and he can’t help but smile to himself. 

So, Cole nods. 

_ “Yeah.” _ He says, releasing a content sigh.  _ “I’m going to be fine. This was just…”  _

Unexpected. He looks towards the group again, the smile on his face only growing wider. He keeps his hand against the pendant, his fingers brushing against Lilly’s name, and speaks up one more time. 

_ “Thank you.”  _


End file.
